Small Groups

We’re Better Together

God created us to live in community with one another. You can find small groups at Hope to meet regularly to pray together, connect and grow in relationship with God, and serve the world around us. Whether you call it a small group, a life group or a Hope Group, it’s a way to make this big church feel smaller, and a helpful way to travel the Christian journey with friends. Through Sermon Discussion Guides, book studies, online classes and other resources, grow in your understanding and faith as you build a relationship with God and others. 

A small group in an uplifting discussion

Small Groups

Hope Groups are groups of 8-12 people who meet regularly off-site to pray together; connect in community; grow and learn by discussing sermons, book studies or devotions; and serve the world around them. It’s also a way to form deep, lasting relationships with others from Hope. Groups can form when Hope offers connection events (such as Hope Group Kickoff) several times a year, through an Alpha group, by gathering a group of friends or by contacting Hope’s Connections Coordinator to help you find a group placement.   
 
Groups meet for the length of a study, for a year or indefinitely! Hope Groups decide when and where to meet and what they wish to study. Email [email protected] to receive a library of resources available to groups or check out the book studies below. 

10 for 10 Group Study Guides

Groups are invited to take a look at Hope’s 10 for 10 Vision, and select a goal that interests them. From there, groups can download the corresponding book to study together! Hope has also created the study guides below with discussion questions to help facilitate group conversation around the topics.

Book Studies

Hope offers all-church book studies for individuals and groups at various times during the year. Each book study comes with teaching videos and booklets to download and print at home. Books are available for purchase at Café Hope at the West Des Moines campus!  

The book “Everybody Always” by Bob Goff is a part of the small groups campaign, Find Your Community! In total there are five teaching videos from various Hope pastors. Download the free printable study guide here

In “Get Your Life Back,” New York Times bestselling author John Eldredge provides a practical, simple, and refreshing guide to taking your life back. By practicing a few wonder­fully simple practices—or what John calls “graces”—you can begin to recover your soul, disentangle from the tragedies of this broken world, and discover the restorative power of beauty. Download the free printable study guide here

Seeing yourself as God sees you is essential to overcoming your deepest struggles, having healthy relationships, living in freedom and fulfilling your life purpose. In “Discover Your True Self,” pastor and author Chip Ingram wants to open your eyes to your true self, the “new you” that God sees, the person who is immeasurably valuable and beautiful. Download the free printable study guide here

In “Forgiving What You Can’t Forget,” discover how to move on, make peace with painful memories and create a life that’s beautiful again. Download the free printable study guide here

This book study is of “The Third Option” by Miles McPherson! Full of practical takeaways and exercises to help us understand the points of view of others, this book inspires, encourages, and equips us to make positive changes in our racially divided country—starting with ourselves. Download the free printable study guide here

“The Homes of Hope Story: It Matters to This One” is a book about servant leadership, loving people unconditionally and obeying God when you don’t know what the ultimate outcome will be. Download the free printable study guide here

This is the book study of “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Comer! Teaching videos by Hope pastors and teachers will be released each week. Download the free printable study guide here

Sermon-Based Study

Sermon Discussion Guides are resources for you or your group to discuss the past weekend’s sermon. These guides will allow you to explore the sermon on a deeper level and break down the Bible reading through discussion questions and prayer. New weekly sermon discussion guides are posted on Tuesdays. 

For previous sermon discussion guides, please email [email protected].

Apprentice Series

The Apprentice Series is a small group experience where participants study a series of four books by James Bryan Smith:

  • The Good and Beautiful God
  • The Good and Beautiful You
  • The Good and Beautiful Community
  • The Good and Beautiful Life

You’ll be placed into a group that’ll read, pray, discuss and participate in weekly spiritual exercises to help you engage with each chapter. As you work through the books, you’ll discover your heart being shaped by the truth of Jesus Christ – and your life being changed. All four books can be purchased at Café Hope in West Des Moines.

Check the calendar to see when the next Apprentice Series class starts!

Apprentice series books

Online, Self-Paced Classes  

Hope offers a number of online, self-paced classes with teaching videos and discussion questions from pastors to study at your own pace. Join with your small group or as an individual at any time! 

Intro to the Bible is an overview of the story of the Bible, taking a 30,000-foot view from Genesis to Revelation. We’ll focus on the major events, characters and themes of the Bible to help you gain an understanding of the overarching story of God working in the world. Download the booklet for the session handouts, including an outline of the talk, discussion questions and activities for the week.

Intro to Prayer is designed as a review of the basics of prayer. We’ll discuss questions such as why we pray and the problem of unanswered prayer, and also introduce several new prayer patterns to expand your personal vocabulary of prayer. Download the booklet for the session handouts, including an outline of the talk, discussion questions and activities for the week.

We know that to stay healthy, we need to care for our bodies by moving, fueling and resting. Habits like good sleep, healthy eating and regular exercise help us to function at our best. It’s the same with our spiritual lives! Spiritual disciplines are habits Christians have practiced through the centuries to keep our spiritual lives healthy and help us grow closer to God. In this class, we will explore several spiritual disciplines to follow to help us stay in step with Jesus and grow deeper in love with our heavenly Father. Download the booklet for the session handouts, including an outline of the talk, discussion questions and activities for the week.

We know that “if it’s in the Bible, it’s Lutheran,” but how do Lutherans understand doctrines like baptism and communion? This class will explore how Lutherans understand several basic Christian beliefs. Download the booklet for the session handouts, including an outline of the talk, discussion questions and activities for the week.

David is one of the most interesting and complex characters in the Bible. Shepherd boy and king, poet and warrior, faithful and flawed, deeply human and a man after God’s own heart. In this study, we will explore David’s story to discover how God uses our everyday lives to develop women and men with an authentic spirituality. This is the first study in a series of three. Download the booklet for the session handouts, including an outline of the talk, discussion questions and activities for the week.

David is one of the most interesting and complex characters in the Bible. Shepherd boy and king, poet and warrior, faithful and flawed, deeply human and a man after God’s own heart. In this study, we will explore David’s story to discover how God uses our everyday lives to develop women and men with an authentic spirituality. This is the second study in a series of three. In Part 2, participants will continue to trace David as he rises from simple shepherd boy to the throne over all Israel. David will encounter foolishness, disaster and grief along the way, and provide a model for how we can grow in authentic faith in our everyday lives. Download the booklet for the session handouts, including an outline of the talk, discussion questions and activities for the week.

David is one of the most interesting and complex characters in the Bible. Shepherd boy and king, poet and warrior, faithful and flawed, deeply human and a man after God’s own heart. In this study, we will explore David’s story to discover how God uses our everyday lives to develop women and men with an authentic spirituality.  
 
In Part 3, participants will continue to trace David during his reign over the nation of Israel. David will encounter sin, love and suffering along the way, and we will see how his life’s story provides a model for how we can grow in authentic faith in our everyday lives. This is the third study in a series of three. Download the booklet for the session handouts, including an outline of the talk, discussion questions and activities for the week.

Contact Us

EricPeyton

Eric Peyton

Frequently Asked Questions

Hope Groups (previously known as Life Groups) are small groups of 8-12 people who meet regularly off-site to pray together, connect in Christ-centered relationships, grow in their faith and serve the world around them. 

Hope Groups Kickoff is a four-week class specifically for people who are looking to join a Hope Group. If you’re not in a group, or if your existing group has gotten small and you’d like to add new people, please join us! Once the class is over, new Hope Groups will be encouraged to continue meeting together on their own. 

We were made to be in community with one another. The Christian life isn’t an individual journey. Instead, we need each other for spiritual growth and together we form the body of Christ. Hope Groups give us a place where these needs can be met. 

Every group is different. Some decide to meet indefinitely, others for a year, still others for less (like the length of one study). You’ll have an opportunity to discuss this with a new Hope Group at Hope Groups Kickoff. If you’re already in a Hope Group, we’d encourage you to have that conversation with your group members so everyone is on the same page. 

If you’re already in a small group, whether you call it a life group, care group, small group, home group or whatever group, it can be a Hope Group! Hope Groups is the name we’re using to refer to all small groups of people at Hope who meet for connection, growth and service. 

Ask your friends, neighbors and those you are already in community with to join you in becoming an official Hope Group that meets regularly to pray, connect, grow and serve! 
Register and attend Hope Groups Kickoff, a class held three times per year at Hope. 

If you have an existing Hope Group and want to add someone new, feel free to invite them. There’s no need for them to register through Hope in order to join your Hope Group. 

Each Hope Group can decide what they study on their own. We have a library of resources available for groups to borrow from (email [email protected] for the list) and from time to time, we do all-church group studies that your group can join. 

Hope Groups typically start by meeting on-site at Hope for Hope Groups Kickoff, but once the class is over, groups are encouraged to continue meeting together on their own in homes, coffee shops, libraries, restaurants … wherever they want! 

During Hope Groups Kickoff, groups will meet on Tuesday evenings. After the class, each group can choose a day/time that works best for them! 

Absolutely. Each existing Hope Group gets to decide when and where they meet. The resources to take the studies are flexible and can be used at any time. If you’re not in a Hope Group yet, you can take Hope Groups Kickoff, a four-week class for people looking to get into a Hope Group.